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Topic: Really cheap tetra pond pump (Read 2770 times)

I bought a really cheap ($20) pond pump and tried it out yesterday. I cooled my wort to 90F running garden hose water through my chiller, then changed it over to my pond pump. I had the pump in the bottom of my mash tun with the false bottom removed. I had approx a gallon of water in it and 6lbs of ice. It took 10 minutes to get the water from 90 to 70. The ice was gone but the water was still really cold. I dumped in a second 6lb bag of ice. 10 minutes later my wort was 62 degrees. My ground water was 72 so without the pump I never would have gotten the wort under 72 and it would have taken me a long time to get it to that temperature.

Yes I was stirring the whole time. You could get by with less ice if you wait until the temp gets down to 80 before adding I think. I will be experimenting in future batches. I paid $1.50 per 6lbs so I didn't think 2 bags was too bad.

Its not so much the cost. I wanted to make ice blocks in Chinese food containers and then refreeze the water afterwards. It might take up a lot of space and I've already taken up a lot of real estate in our spare freezer with hops.

Its not so much the cost. I wanted to make ice blocks in Chinese food containers and then refreeze the water afterwards. It might take up a lot of space and I've already taken up a lot of real estate in our spare freezer with hops.